e=mc2

A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation

Author: David Bodanis

I am always weary when I pick up books with pull-quotes of previous popular critics – like the John Polanyi’s from the Globe and Mail “Exhilarating. E=mc2 is to be treasured.” I cannot help but wonder if the book will live up to such blatant marketing-ploys promising instant enlightenment. The author David Bodanis, an academic at Oxford is able to deliver on those claims. His concise account surrounding the development of popular science’s biggest breakthrough of the 20th century; the preface details his muse of the book as Cameron Diaz – whom queried as to the meaning of e=mc2 in a television interview.

“It got me thinking. Everyone knows that e=mc2 is really important, but they don’t know what it means, and that’s frustrating, because the equation is so short that you’d think it would be understandable.”

With this as his mission, Bodanis recreates the era through numerous stories of scientists working in their respective fields – piecing together the breakthroughs; the book offers great clarity to the subject. Demonstrating the practical applications of the equation in daily devices such as – televisions, smoke alarms, PET scanners; through the abstract notions of forming stars and distant black holes; and most importantly the creation of the world’s most deadly weapon – the Atomic Bomb. It is difficult to imagine that only a short 100 years ago our world was a wholly-different place, by far a simpler time in history. Bodanis provides a narrative of the time – introducing each character and their relation to one another, and the context of their role, which ultimately led to Albert Einstein’s major contribution to theoretical physics. Exploring the lives of:

The first half of the book is dedicated to developing the main character – Albert Einstein, and his intellectual tools – E, =, M, C, and the important exponent 2. The reader is presented with the reality of Einstein’s early career in a patent office, a struggling academic trying to maintain a young family. Nevertheless Bodanis meticulously lays out the basics of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Developing each of the symbols into meaningful entities that together changed humanity – for Energy is equal to the Mass of a substance multiplied by the Speed of light Squared. After reading this fully explanatory section it becomes glaringly obvious just how simple the equation really is, the transitions between chapters gives a clever account of the importance of each symbol. By the fourth chapter he finally lets it out:

The Victorians had thought they found all possible sources of energy there were: chemical energy, heat energy, magnetic energy, and the rest. But by 1905 Einstein could say… there is another place you can look where you’ll find more. His equation was like a telescope to lead there, but the hiding place wasn’t far… it was hidden away in solid matter itself.

What I found particularly useful of this book was the attention given to the historical context of the time. The development of the theory of relativity resulted in the division of the world’s military might – resulting in a scientific gold-rush of sorts, where funding billowed into national defense programs. These programs competed on an international scale, largely resulting in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union which contributed to the increase of nuclear-weapon stockpiles. The history behind Einstein’s German descent adds an interesting twist to the story – as World War II spurred such defense initiatives as: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Chalk River (CRNL), European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and government sponsored Manhattan project. As the world empires attempted to out-discover their enemies, they were also contributing to the world’s deadliest weapon. The book details conspiracy, espionage, and sabotage attempts on both sides – and the highly secretive government involvement. This background information provides the reader a rich experience of the events leading to the momentous and deadly results of the first nuclear attacks – over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

These worldly consequences of such human-weapons are compared to the larger application of the equation. Bodanis dedicates the last segment of the book to an understanding of how e=mc2 contributes in the daily functioning of our universe – ultimately controlling everything “from how the first stars ignited, to how the life will end.” It is amazing to think the equation provides the simplest account of how the Sun produces it’s seemingly endless supply – and it holds the potential for the future of human civilization. The discussion shifts towards the daily importance of the equation, on everything from medical equipment to nuclear-power generation. It was particularly interesting how Bodanis explored the gender issues in the scientific community – which proved to be a hindrance in the equations evolution. But no such discussion could be complete without the abstract theoretical impact of e=mc2, where the current state of order rarely experiences “mass and energy… transforming into each other” as in the distant past; and how the equation permits the existence of Black Holes in the Universe. Overall Bodanis is successful in delivering on his promise of a biography on the world’s most famous equation.

The entire book proves to be a useful and enjoyable read. Complete with illustrations, photos, notes, further reading suggestions, and a comprehensive additional notes section – the book provides an excellent resource for those curious of modern science and Albert Einstein. The tone of the book is accessible to almost any reader, and will no doubt stimulate curiosity through an entertaining depiction of the time. I would highly recommend this book to any person interested in the subject – or even a high school physics teacher looking for inspiration to the classroom!

–/

This review was written by Curtis Goodman on April 15th, 2008.

For more information:

www.davidbodanis.com